The Gift of Warmth
by Mernha
Summary: Snow is falling, and one particular blond is without a winter coat. But does he really need one to be warm? Oneshot SasuNaru


The Gift Of Warmth

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't own Sasuke. If I did, they'd me making out all the time. But they're not, so I don't. I also don't own any of the other characters seen in this Fanfic.

Warning! This Fanfic contains slight Yaoi…. BL…. Shonen-ai. I dunno. There are too many names for it! Gah!

Also, note that this is my first Fanfic. Please don't write a review saying 'omgz! Ur storee sucked monkey asszors!'. Please offer constructive criticism. Stupid flames will be use to make smores. :3 Yum, smores…..

Side Note: Yay for inspirational commercials!

A stolen glance out the window showed the blond the one scene he didn't want to see. A flurry of snow swirled itself around Konoha High. A silent groan escaped Naruto's mouth as he buried his face in the palm of his hand. As he looked up, he caught his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, shoot him a questioning glace from his seat across the isle. He changed the grimace that had set onto his features in a split second and grinned widely, denying any problems. Sasuke's gaze hardened for a moment, before surrendering and looking away.

Naruto found his gaze entranced by the window again. God dammed snow… He thought, Always so cold and wet and…Erh! His mind growled at the weather. How dare it start to snow so early in the year. It wasn't even December yet! And snow before December, in the blond's opinion, was just wrong, ethically wrong. He wished the Weatherman had been wrong today. He was nearly every other day, after all. His mind traveled back to that morning.

- - -

"No! No no no no no! This can't be happening! Not yet!" Naruto had whined, flexing his fingers in dismay. He had dug out his winter coat, after an announcement over the small pocket radio had just given the warning for a snowstorm in the early afternoon. The poor garment was ripped in more places that he could count, and the once downy soft fleece inside was pilled and ragged, but that wasn't what had him so frantic. The sleeves, which had fit him perfectly fine last year, now ended somewhere in the middle of his forearm. The zipper, whose pull had broken off some time before and was now replaced by a paperclip, refused to zip up any farther then his navel. Stuffing leaked from the collar and the pockets lead directly to the ground. In other words, he had outgrown the coat that he had kept and saved and used for the past four years.

After a few minutes of struggling getting the coat on that far, he now spent the same amount of time, if not longer, wiggling out of; squirming down on the floor of his apartment like a worm of some sort. He closed his eyes and groaned audibly. It was winter now, officially; due to the weather, and he was without a coat.

Coats were expensive, easily costing sixty dollars, on the cheap end. And the way he was living, he'd need one that'd last a while, he couldn't afford a new coat every year like many of his classmates. He sighed and made his way back to the small table that stood in the middle of his Diningchen, which was a word he came up for the cross of a dining room and a kitchen that his apartment possessed. He glowered at the wall as he picked at the rest of the instant ramen cup he had been eating so eagerly just moments before.

An unorthodox breakfast, for sure, but it was cheap and hey, he liked it a lot, so he wasn't one to complain. There was many a day that he lived off nothing but the noodle soup.

Naruto grit his teeth and picked up the small Styrofoam cup, tossing it into the garbage as he went to his closet to see if he could find a sweater that was part of his school's uniform selection because—

- - -

He was jerked from his thoughts and memories by the piercing bell that signaled the end of classes for the day. Many of the other students were already gathered by the door like sheep and took the bell as their sign to run out, screaming wildly. Naruto rolled his eyes. Usually, he'd be by Sasuke's desk, annoying him by trying to get the raven haired boy to pick up the pace so they could get out of there. While he enjoyed walking home with his friend, talking about their day or making plans to hang out over the weekend, he was dreading the snow.

He hadn't found a sweater. And he wasn't about to go risking the threat of a uniform violation by bringing an 'illegal' sweater onto school premises. His grades weren't the best, but the teachers usually gave him a little slack because he was a 'good kid', as they usually said.

It really pissed him off that they thought of him as a kid, but more often then not ended up thanking them for it when they bumped a test or assignment to a pass, rather then allowing to fail miserably.

He sighed for what had to have been the thousandth time that day.

"Oi, Dobe!" Sasuke barked, his knuckles colliding with Naruto's skull with a dull thud. "You coming or what?" He asked, his dark eyes narrowed. Something about Naruto was different today, he could tell. As Naruto looked up, Sasuke could tell that his bright cerulean eyes were dull and blunt, but only for a moment before the blond seemingly perked up and stood up, shoving his things into his book bag with lightning speed.

"Ah, sorry Sasuke! I guess I spaced out for a moment there…" He offered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he picked up his bag and followed his friend out the door and towards the Uchiha's locker, as they always did.

As they walked down the hall, the noise level far too loud for conversing, Sasuke took this as a moment to think. When had he gotten so close to Naruto that he could tell that something was wrong, even though the blond tried so hard to deny it?

When they had first met, back in their first year of school, they saw each other as a sworn enemy. Maybe it was in that rivalry that they had come to respect one another. When was it that he stopped seeing Naruto's antics as childish and stupid, and found them amusing and enchanting? When was it that he found the sight of the blond upset heart wrenching, and no longer giving him a sense of pleasure?

When he realized he loved him, of course. When he realized that that blond dobe was the most important person in the world. When he knew that he would do anything to see Naruto's smile, as it lighted up not only the blond's face, but the entire room.

_Oh well,_ Sasuke thought to himself, turning his head just enough do that he could see the saddened expression on Naruto's face. _I'll work on him while we walk home. He'll spill._

The two stopped, Naruto leaning on the lockers that stood beside Sasuke's, as they were empty. He waved cheerfully at the people he knew as they passed by, getting a mixture of responses, from Neji's polite hand swipe back to an acknowledging nod from Gaara.

Sasuke pulled his arm through the sleeve of his coat, a dark navy blue one, of course, and zipped it up, bouncing his backpack onto his shoulders. The crowd had died down to a dull roar by now so he was able to start talking with his friend. He opened his mouth to say something as he turned to start walking towards Naruto's locker, but was cut off by the blond.

"No, Sasuke, it's okay, I don't have anything in my locker. We can go." He said, grabbing onto the other boy's shoulder and stopping him. His locker was in the opposite direction of the door, and there was no need to walk around the school for nothing.

Sasuke blinked. "You sure? I mean, you don't even have your coat with you." He pointed out, looking the blond over. He wasn't even wearing a sweater, for crying out loud.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, it's not _that_ cold out!" He said with a smile.

"It's snowing out."

"All the better to get going! Don't want to get caught out there."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly, before turning and walking towards the door. He opened it and held it open for Naruto, who thanked him and smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked outside, gritting his teeth as the first wave of cold, and snowy wind for that matter, struck him. He was just glad that he lived close to the school and it was only a fifteen minute walk.

"Naruto…. You're freezing. Want my coat?" Sasuke offered, noticing the blond stiffen as he walked outside. Naruto was one who loved summer and sunshine, not the cold breeze of winter.

"Naw, I'm fine. Besides, I live closer then you. I'll be inside sooner." He said, trying to turn down Sasuke's offer as politely as he could. In his mind's eye, he could see himself hitting the raven over the head with his book bag and stealing the coat, zipping it up as far as it would go and indulging in the warmth. He shook his head. No, can't think about _that! _

Sasuke looked away and sighed. The dobe was oblivious to his attempts of being kind. Hn. Being kind. Tell him when he first met the clueless dobe that he'd be going out of his way to make his 'sworn rival' comfortable and he'd probably would have responded with one of his infamous Uchiha Death Glares. But now…. It just seemed natural. Funny how much he had changed since befriending Naruto.

"So then," He tried striking up conversation as Naruto was clearly going to refuse any sort of warmth inducing garment, "Want to come over to my place to study for that test?" He watched a confused expression fall upon his beloved's face. The quizzical look that seemed to give a visual to the words "Wha? What test?" made Sasuke smile internally. But he didn't show it.

"You know, that biology test that we were studying for all class. It's tomorrow." He said instead, seeing the confused look turn to one of mortification.

"Crap!" He hissed, his hands leaping up to run through his unruly blond locks. His features took on a sullen look of defeat. "I can't. Not today. I have to work overtime tonight." He buried his face in his cold hands, fighting the urge to cry out in frustration.

"Overtime?"

"Yeah…. I took the week off last week so I could work on all those assignments that I got, but now I really need to get back to work so I can catch up on my r-" He paused, cutting himself off.

"Your 'r'? Your rent!?" Sasuke said, whipping his head around, suddenly feeling protective of his blond. _No, not yet. He's not mine yet. I really gotta stop thinking like that…_

"Nooooooooooo…" Naruto said, letting the word hang as his eyes darted around, trying to focus on anything then his friend's eye. "My rrrrr….. ramen… handling." He said, stretching out the words as he attempted to fabricate something that sounded plausible. He was of course referring to his job as a server at the small, but popular ramen shop Ichiraku's.

"Ramen handling."

"Yeah…You get rusty after a while, I gotta get back in the groove."

Sasuke could tell Naruto was lying, of course. That was one thing the blond could not do even if his life depended on it. Think on his feet and come up with a good story. He bit his lip, worried for his friend. If he was having money problems, why didn't he just ask to borrow a bit from the raven haired teen? He had more then enough to cover a month's rent.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya later Sasuke," The two had arrived at the steps that lead up to the small apartment building that Naruto called home.

"See ya." A quick exchange of farewell waves and the raven turned to walk to his own house. A grimace pulled at his lips. He had been observing the blond closely during their walk. Naruto had said it wasn't that cold out, but the shivers that ran through his body and the pale blue colour that had claimed his lips were more then enough evidence to prove him wrong.

But, what could he do? Naruto wouldn't accept a coat if he thought it was charity….

Wait a moment! That was it! He picked up his pace, racing home, the grimace replaced by a rare smile.

Bright sunlight pierced through the blinds. Naruto furrowed his brow and tried to cover his closed eyes with the back of his hand, but still the light seeped through. Not long after this assault, his ears were being attacked by the shrill screech of his alarm clock. He groaned, sitting up, his fingers rubbing his sore head. He cracked an eye open, seeing his work uniform lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of his bed. He had been so tired after the extra long shift that he had just enough energy to peel it off before falling onto his bed and falling asleep.

His school uniform lay beside it, nearly forgotten in his haste to change uniforms and make it to work on time. He gave a dry cough before reaching down and picking it up.

He walked out of his bedroom, slipping his vest over his shirt as he walked to his Diningchen, starting a kettle of water for ramen.

As he slurped at his breakfast, he was going over his funds in his head, seeing if he could possibly fit a coat in somewhere. _Maybe, if I work overtime for one day a week, I can put the extra money together and get a coat in… a month or so… _

He hit his head on the table, feeling the cool surface with his forehead. A month of brutally cold days. He groaned.

A quick glance at the clock told him it was nearly time to meet with Sasuke. He left the Styrofoam cup on the table, deciding to take care of it later. He opened the door to his apartment, and was met with a blob of orange.

What in the...? He thought, and upon closer inspection it turned out the blob was a coat. A big winter one, overstuffed with down and with more fleece on the inside then he thought possible. A small piece of paper was taped to the hood, his name written in a neat, familiar handwriting that he couldn't seem to place.

He blinked, pulling the coat on. It fit perfectly. He felt warmer already. His hands reached inside the large pockets, feeling out the wonderful new garment. Feeling something in the right pocket, he pulled out his hand to expose another piece of paper, a note written in the same handwriting.

_**Naruto,**_

_**I'll always be there to keep you warm. **_

_**Sasuke**_

Naruto smiled softly. Sasuke. He should have known. He really was a true friend. He tightened his grip on his bag and ran down the stairs, skipping two or three at a time.

He flew out the door, towards the dark figure that stood out against the white background.

Sasuke hardly had enough time to react before he was tackled by a blur the colour of sunshine. He was nearly knocked off his feet as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, bringing him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you so much, Sasuke!" Naruto crooned, he words muffled by Sasuke's coat. He broke the hug and stood in front of his friend, looking up into his eye.

"So, how much was it? I'll pay you back, if you can wait a little while."

But Sasuke stopped him before he could finish the last word, looking at the blond through heavy lidded eyes.

"No need, you already have." He said simply.

Naruto knitted his brow, his lips parting just slightly in a look of confusion as he pondered the Uchiha's strange words.

But Sasuke took his opportunity to lean in close, his lips ghosting over Naruto's before he straightened up and walked away from what had to be the lightest and softest kiss in history, leaving one particular blond very warm indeed.


End file.
